AN EVENING WITH RICHARD MORTON JACK AND CHRIS WELCH TALKING LED ZEP IN RICHMOND/SAVING GRACE BOSTON REPORT/ELECTRIC MAGIC – 54 YEARS GONE/ PETER GRANT 30 YEARS GONE/KNEBWORTH BOOK LAUNCH 2013/THE BEATLES WHITE ALBUM IT WAS 57 YEARS AGO/ DL DIARY BLOG UPDATE
ELECTRIC MAGIC 54 YEARS GONE:
November 21st is always a bit of a special date in my calendar year – as it was on this day back in 1971 that I was lucky enough to witness Led Zeppelin live at the Empire Pool Wembley –and as you will read, nothing was ever the same in our house after that. Over the next few days I’ll be wading through the Empire Strikes Back Tarantura CD box set to recall the night the Wembley Empire Pool was, as the Melody Maker headline ran ‘Zapped by Zeppelin…’
Here’s some personal reflections…
Schoolboy wonderment, Wally, Pigs and Plates at the Pool
54 years ago this week I first witnessed the pure live power of Led Zeppelin when I attended the second Electric Magic show at the Empire Pool Wembley on the evening of Sunday November 21st 1971. I was just 15 years old –the effect would be a lasting one. Looking back one of the things that stands out from that time is that Zep had a ‘’leaders of the underground’’ stigma about them.
This was the latter period of the UK underground scene –the famous Oz obscenity trial was a only a couple of months before and on that November night there hung a heady atmosphere as London’s counter culture elite came out to see them. This feeling of being amongst the counter culture was enhanced by the presence of a large stall within the Empire Pool for Virgin Records Richard Branson’s newly inaugurated discount record retail operation. They were proudly selling the new Led Zeppelin album in that mysterious sleeve. There was also the famous Electric Magic poster on sale for all of 30p which now changes hands for upwards of a grand. I wish I’d brought more than one!
This was the night Home and Stone The Crows were the support acts and during both sets their respective guitarists took out a violin bow and briefly did a ‘’Jimmy’’ in mock respect for what would occur later. The in between entertainment was provided by the infamous performing pigs that didn’t and the plate spinner Olley Gray who also didn’t fare too well. Warm up records played by DJ Jeff Dexter included Redbone’s Witch Queen Of New Orleans and Isaac Hayes’ Shaft – both hits of the time (Page would insert the riff of Shaft into their version of Dazed And Confused the next week in Manchester.
There were frequent cries from the audience of ‘’Wally’’ a gig going tradition sparked by a roadie at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. Never around when needed, the road crew cries of ‘’Where’s Wally?’’ was taken up by the festival audience – and ensuing audiences at big name gigs such as this one.
Then it was time for the main event. Promoter Ricky Farr introduced them and it was evident how loud it was going to be from the moment Bonzo rattled around the kit and Jimmy flexed the Gibson. Then 1 -2-3-4 …Blam!
I was watching Led Zeppelin perform Immigrant Song in front of my own eyes…and nothing was ever the same again.
And nothing was ever this loud. The sheer force of the riff physically pushed me back. After the initial shock of that moment, well the rest of proceedings for this particular schoolboy were just awe inspiring. I watched it all with open mouthed wonderment.
So many vivid images remain from that first stunning exposure to the grown up music world. The immediate upturn of seeing this thing in the flesh was that my interest increased manifold. The scrapbooks became more meticulous, the hunger for knowledge about them more intense and the need to follow their every move a virtual means to an end. It was a year of waiting before they returned to the UK and I saw them at Alley Pally and then came five glorious nights at Earls Court and more. By then journalistic reporting of Zep in the Melody Maker and NME by the likes of Roy Hollingsworth, Nick Kent and Charles Shaar Murray had inspired me to put pen to paper myself and the seeds of Tight But Loose were being sown.
Ultimately it was that night back in November 1971 that sparked the insatiable belief in their music that has stayed with me ever since. It was a night of true Electric Magic and the intervening 50 years have done nothing to diminish its impact.
Back then at 15 years old, I knew I had witnessed something very special –but little did I realize that 54 years hence at aged 69 Led Zeppelin would still mean so much to me and countless millions across the world.
Then as now… they still weave the (Electric) Magic….
Dave Lewis – November 2025
Here’s the Evenings With Led Zeppelin entry for the November 20/211 1971 Wembley Empire Pool gigs…
Peter Grant 30 Years Gone:
Remembering the late great legendary Peter Grant – the man who Led Zeppelin, 30 years gone on November 21,2021. Here’s a tribute I wrote for the TBL magazine issue 11 at the time…
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November 16,2013: Knebworth Book launch…
12 years gone
On this day in 2013, I launched the revised version of my Then As it Was Led Zeppelin At Knebworth 1979 book at the two day VIP Musicmania Fair at Olympia, November 16th/17th.
This Knebworth book launch at the VIP Musicmania Fair was a hugely enjoyable two days.
My fellow stall holder Jerry Bloom and I set up early on Saturday morning – it was great to see faces old and new over the two days – Marc Roberty long time Eric Clapton authority and author was the first to buy the book. There were a fair few key contributors to the book in attendance including Graeme Hutchinson who compiled the bootleg discography, Phil Tatterhsall who provided the cover photo and more plus Ian Avey, Phil Harris and Ian Coleman provided their respective I Was There memories. It was also good to see Classic Rock news editor Dave Ling ,and amongst others Krys Jantzen, Julian Walker ,Michael Stendahl from Sweden, Mark Taylor, Gary Steagles, Dennis McDonnell, Lausen Blair and Mark Winslade – Mark showed me a custom made Tight But Loose badge he had made to attend the Reading Festival in 1980 –classic!
It was of course an absolute thrill to have Jimmy Page drop by at the TBL stall in between his record shopping at the fair with Ross Halfin.
Jimmy was very complementary about the book which really was a fantastic accolade to say the least – and made all the hard work of producing the book worthwhile. He posed for this photo with me taken by Ross.
I gave him a copy of the book and he asked me to sign it for him – for which in return he signed one for me (now that’s what I call a fair deal!). ”Dave – well done!, Rock on!!” was his wonderful inscription.
When he asked what number I’d like in the ‘’book number ‘’ box Jimmy took the initiative and smiling mischievously, filled it in marking it book number ‘’666’’…
Unsurprisingly, this copy of my Knebworth book personally signed and numbered by Jimmy Page is one of my most prized Zep possessions…it was some moment all of seven years ago today……
Dave Lewis, November 20 2024
It was eleven years ago today….2:
This was the second day of the launch of the revised version of my Then As it Was Led Zeppelin At Knebworth 1979 book at the two day VIP Musicmania Fair at Olympia.
I took the opportunity to try on this rather fetching Zozo jumper a perspective buyer of the book had brought in – this is the style of jumper Jimmy wore at the 1971 Electric Magic shows at Wembley Empire Pool in November 1971 …I think it looked better on him than it did me…
DL – November ,2025
The Beatles White Album was released 57 years ago on November 22 1968 – here’s my thoughts on the reissue of seven years back…
My thoughts on…
The Beatles White Album remastered – reissued…
I was 12 years old when The Beatles released a double album simply called ”The Beatles” – I was vaguely aware of it as we had the NME every week in our house. At the time music was not a big passion for me but that would all change with the release of The Beatles next single Get Back. Issued the following April, it was the record that took me back to music after an initial burst of interest following The Dave Clark Five when I was aged seven.
I do very much remember the events of that year of 1968. In terms of the White Album timeline – On May 29 I was at our school sports day in the afternoon and in the evening watched Manchester United beat Benfica in the European Cup Final – all this occurred on the day before they entered Abbey Road Studios to begin the White Album sessions. I know I was on holiday in Wales when Hey Jude was released at the end of August and about to celebrate my 12th birthday the day after they shot the Hey Jude & Revolution promo films at Twickenham Studios. On my actual birthday the next day (September 5), they were in the studio working on While My Guitar Gently Weeps. it’s also worth mentioning that in late July, Paul McCartney was in the Bedfordshire vicinity – calling in to a pub in the nearby village of Harrold. Not only that, he took to the piano for an impromptu delivery of Hey Jude. Oh to be in the pub for a drink that night!
1969 would be the breakthrough year for my lasting musical obsession and passion – greatly inspired by the weekly watching of Top Of The Pops, reading the NME, the juke box in a local café, school friends beginning to buy singles and listening to Alan Freeman’s Pick of The Pops every Sunday afternoon. It was on Alan’s radio show in late 1969 when I first heard Led Zeppelin.
By then, I had already heard bits of The Beatles double album forever tagged The White Album with that distinctive sleeve. An older friend we played Subbuteo table football with, was an album buyer and on one occasion when we visited his house, he had both the Blind Faith album and The Beatles White Album on top of the family radiogram. I remember we were intrigued by the title Why Don’t We Do it In the Road.
I was fascinated with both these albums – but especially The Beatles. The package alone was striking. That plain laminated white sleeve, the block title, the individual number, the black inner sleeves, the remarkable poster (we gawped at the pic of Macca naked but for a strategic pole in front of him) and the record labels depicting the green Apple on the front and the Apple core on the reverse side. I had previously marvelled at the Hey Jude, Get Back and Ballad of John and Yoko single labels – seeing that distinctive design on a full size LP was awe inspiring. In fact everything about being a Beatles fan was awe inspiring. It still is.
From then on, I intensively followed their every move – the Let It Be single, album and film, the sad break up, the early solo careers. When I began working at British Home stores in June 1972, I now had some income to buy albums. In early 1973, I purchased The Beatles White Album from Carlows record shop in Bedford.
At last, I had the full 30 tracks and four sides at my disposal. An embarrassment of riches then…and now. in fact it’s amazing to think that on this 50th anniversary, that when I finally got hold of a copy of The White Album it was a mere five years old.
It kick started a long running love affair I have with this two record set.
The Beatles White album was one of the first albums I purchased when I got a CD player in 1988. I have the mono CD pressing that came as part of The Beatles Mono Box set, I’ve searched out an original mono pressing which has some slightly differing mixes, I have an import version on the Odeon label – in all I must have around 15 different pressings.
As for the bootlegs, I have a brilliant 3 CD set The Alternate White Album with outtakes and demos, I have the legendary Esher demos CD , the so called Peter Sellers tape comprising of early mixes Ringo handed to Peter Sellers prior to the albums original release. I have the nostalgic 1968 WABC FM US broadcast of an advance acetate of the album, I have the free Mojo CD The White Album Recovered that has modern artist covering songs from the White Album.
I have a stack of original NMEs, Melody Makers, Disc music papers covering The White Album’s development in 1968. I have many a magazine feature on the subject. Tony Palmer’s Observer review as featured on the back of the Yellow Submarine soundtrack album is amongst my favourite Beatles writings.
One of my party pieces when I worked at Our Price and Virgin anytime the White album was delivered to the shop was to name the thirty tracks that make up the album in quick succession. I knew them by heart of course.
My favourite tracks on The Beatles Anthology releases are the White Album outtakes that feature on the Anthology 3 set.
As a collector of singles featuring Beatles cover versions I have picked up a fair few cover versions of songs from the White Album. The release of any new Beatles album always saw a spate of artists keen to cover Lennon/McCartney songs for potential hit singles – The White Album was no exception – indeed The Marmalade took their version of Ob- La De, Ob -La Da to number one in late December.
The cover versions from the White Album I have are as follows:
Everybody’ Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey – Fats Domino (Reprise)
Issued in 1969, this finds Fats applying his familiar New Orleans boogie woogie style to the Lennon rocker. Produced by Richard Perry who went on to work with the likes of Carly Simon, Harry Nilsson, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Diana Ross and Ringo Starr.
Blackbird by Danny McCulluch (Captiol)
An interesting arrangement – McCulluch a former bassist with The Animals and Eric Burden band, he brings a rasping Rod Stewart like vocal to this rock soul soup up with upfront percussion.
The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill/I Will by Youngblood (Pye)
Two sides of White Album covers issued in February 1969.The A side is a faithful chorus led outing that omits Lennon’s ad-libbed ”All the children sing” The B side version of I Will is a dreamy pleasingly whimsical affair with multi layered vocals. Youngblood were a Birmingham based band with Cozy Powell featuring in their line up until late 1968.
Back In The USSR – Cliff Bennett and his Band (Parlophone ) Cliff’s band at one time included the late Chas Hodges who went on to be part of Chas and Dave. Cliff’s cover version of Got To Get You Into My Life ( produced by McCartney) was a top ten hit in 1966. This is a rather frantic fuzz guitar dominated delivery sans the airplane effects.
Ob -La -Di Ob -La -Da by The Bedrocks (Columbia) – slightly more Caribbean sounding renditions that made the lower regions of the UK chart in late 1968. Produced by Norman Smith who worked on the early Beatles hits as an engineer and went on to produce the early Pink Floyd.
Ob -La Di Ob – La -Da by The Marmalade (CBS) – the more commercial arrangement that scored them a number one single in the UK.
I also have…
Hey Jude by Wilson Pickett (Atlantic) – brilliant funked up delivery from the soul man with Duane Allman guesting. One of the best ever Beatles covers.
Hey Jude/Those Were The Days by The Larry Page Orchestra (Page One) – well produced orchestral arrangements.
One other White Album covers curio I have is the 1968 album by Ramsey Lewis titled Mother Nature’s Son recorded and released in December 1968. This album features cover versions of ten tracks from The White Album expertly re imagined by the legendary jazz pianist. It has some pioneering use of the Moog synthesizer – an instrument The Beatles would make copious use of on the Abbey Road album in 1969.
This is all leading to one clear fact: The Beatles’ White album is my second favourite album of all time behind Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin.
For this is much more than a mere record – it’s been a lifelong companion to me through ups and downs. Not just a mere record but for me a way of life.
So what is it that so enthralls me about this two record set?
For a start the sequencing of the 30 tracks is just perfect. The cross fades, the abrupt endings, the off -mic chat, the count ins – it all fits so perfectly. My familiarity with it’s contents is such that I know every nook and cranny of it’s sequencing. Jimmy Page was also a deft hand when it came to the sequencing of the Zep albums.
It’s a true song cycle. A kaleidoscope of stories, characters, dreams and magic.
The quality of the songwriting is just immense – much has been made in the past about the disharmony among the four at the time. Whilst there were obvious tensions there were many moments of pure Beatles fun – a fact emphasised by producer of the new remaster Giles Martin in various recent interviews.
Now we have so much more of it to enjoy with the arrival of The Beatles White Album remastered reissue.
Back in 1988, I purchased Mark Lewisohn’s superb The Beatles Recording Sessions -The Official Story of The Abbey Road Years. This book chronicled every Beatles recording session and in collating the book, Mark was given total access to listen to every last cough and splutter as The Beatles were at work. For the time it was an incredibly illuminating book. On September 26 1988, I was lucky enough to attend the launch of the book inside Abbey Road Studios number 2 one of four occasions I’ve been lucky enough to be inside those hallowed walls. For the record, the other occasions – August 1983 for The Beatles At Abbey Road show, October 1992 for the Mark Lewishon Compete Beatles book launch – a very memorable day as David Coverdale and Jimmy Page were in the studio that day working on their album – I spoke to David briefly. Then in February 2010 to see amongst others, Robert Plant at the Sound & Vision Event for Cancer Research UK.
I’ve since spoken to Mark about that book and his later massive Beatles Chronicle publication. Indeed his books have provided much inspiration as to how I have gone about my own Zep chronicling over the years.
Reading his descriptions in that Recording Sessions book of the multiple takes that survive in the archive was absolutely fascinating – and none more so that the expansive coverage of the recording of what would become the White Album. At the time of reading the book, I marveled at how privileged Mark had been to hear all that amazing music being made as it happened.
Now, through the wonder of Giles Martin and the EMI team, we can all be privy to such Beatles studio recording insights – for as they did for Sgt Pepper, we now have a vastly expanded reissue of that illustrious double album – with an array of previously unheard demos and outtakes.
Last Friday, it was a joy to invest in The Beatles White Album Giles Martin new stereo mix on vinyl on the day of release at the excellent Slide Record shop in Bedford…93 minutes of musical heaven awaited.
And what a 93 minute experience it is. It sounds incredible – so warm and precise, the instrumentation so well defined. Giles Martin has made a great iconic work even greater… 50 years on there are still new revelations in to be heard in this work of genius…
Alongside that new stereo remaster of The White Album on vinyl, I also have invested in the ultimate super deluxe package that includes:
CDs 1 & 2: The BEATLES (‘White Album’) 2018 stereo album mix
CD3: Esher Demos
– Esher Demo tracks 1 through 19 sequenced in order of the finished song’s placement on ‘The White Album.’ Tracks 20-27 were not included on the album.
CDs 4, 5 & 6: Sessions
– 50 additional recordings, most previously unreleased, from ‘White Album’ studio sessions; all newly mixed from the four-track and eight-track session tapes, sequenced in order of their recording start dates.
Blu-ray:
– 2018 album mix in high resolution PCM stereo
– 2018 DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 album mix
– 2018 Dolby True HD 5.1 album mix
– 2018 direct transfer of the album’s original mono mix
Phew!
This one I could not resist and I had to invest as an early Christmas present.
Over the next few days and weeks (however long it takes!) I will be intensely listening to this ultimate White Album experience.
Like I said – it’s not just an album…its a way of life…being re acquainted with this incredible new remastered reissue has been quite life affirming
It’s The Beatles…
It’s The White Album…
It’s brilliant…
Dave Lewis – November 12,2018.
Tuesday November 18:
Fab night at the Pete Burridge record club where one of highlights was the brilliant Free Fire and Water album that Jez Walsh bought along.
Wednesday November 19:
It was 54 years ago today…
The UK release of the album that over the years has been called The New Led Zeppelin Alum, Four Symbols, Zoso, Untitled and Led Zeppelin IV…
It’s of course an album you can never have too many of – and I have a fair few…
Thursday November 20:
Until next time…
Dave Lewis – November 19 2025
TBL website updates written and compiled by Dave Lewis
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